|

Moody's downgrades US debt to AA1, citing rising interest costs and unsustainable debt growth

Moody's Ratings agency downgraded the US's sovereign debt credit rating after the market close on Friday. According to Moody's, the US is facing rising debt funding costs that far exceed those of similar government debt loads. Moody's specifically highlighted US interest obligations "that are significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns".

Moody's has lost faith that the US government will be able to make and execute multi-year reduction plans for reducing its deficits and debt and stating, "Successive US administrations and Congress have failed to agree on measures to reverse the trend of large annual fiscal deficits and growing interest costs."

Key highlights

United States ratings cut to Aa1 from AAA.

The US' long-term local and foreign-currency country ceilings remain at AAA.

We do not expect that the US' long-term growth will be significantly affected by tariffs.

We recognize the US' significant economic & financial strengths, and believe these no longer fully counterbalance decline in fiscal metrics.

We anticipate US' Federal debt burden will rise to about 134% of GDP by 2035, compared to 98% in 2024.

Author

Joshua Gibson

Joshua joins the FXStreet team as an Economics and Finance double major from Vancouver Island University with twelve years' experience as an independent trader focusing on technical analysis.

More from Joshua Gibson
Share:

Markets move fast. We move first.

Orange Juice Newsletter brings you expert driven insights - not headlines. Every day on your inbox.

By subscribing you agree to our Terms and conditions.

Editor's Picks

EUR/USD eyes 1.1800 barrier near two-month highs

EUR/USD extends its gains for the second successive session, trading around 1.1780 during the Asian hours on Tuesday. On the daily chart, technical analysis indicates a persistent bullish bias, as the pair moves upward within the ascending channel pattern. Additionally, the 14-day Relative Strength Index at 68.89 sits near overbought, signaling strong demand. RSI remains elevated, which could cap gains if overbought conditions emerge.

GBP/USD knocks ten-week highs ahead of holiday slowdown

GBP/USD found room on the high side on Monday, kicking off a holiday-shortened trading week with a fresh spat of Greenback weakness, bolstering the Pound Sterling into its highest bids in ten weeks. Pound traders are largely brushing off the latest interest rate cut from the Bank of England as the UK’s central bank policy strategy leaves the water murky for rate-cut watchers.

Gold bulls seem unstoppable amid supportive fundamental backdrop

Gold is seen building on the previous day's strong rally of over 2% and continues scaling new all-time highs for the second consecutive day on Tuesday. The commodity climbs closer to the $4,500 psychological mark during the Asian session and remains well supported by a combination of factors. 

Uniswap holds above $6 as traders eye UNIfication vote outcome

Uniswap price holds above $6 at the time of writing on Tuesday after closing above a key resistance zone in the previous week. Traders are focusing on the highly anticipated UNIfication proposal, which is set to conclude on Thursday, and could become a key near-term catalyst. On the technical side, momentum indicators are flashing bullish signals, hinting at an upside rally.

Ten questions that matter going into 2026

2026 may be less about a neat “base case” and more about a regime shift—the market can reprice what matters most (growth, inflation, fiscal, geopolitics, concentration). The biggest trap is false comfort: the same trades can look defensive… right up until they become crowded.

XRP steadies above $1.90 support as fund inflows and retail demand rise

Ripple (XRP) is stable above support at $1.90 at the time of writing on Monday, after several attempts to break above the $2.00 hurdle failed to materialize last week. Meanwhile, institutional interest in the cross-border remittance token has remained steady.